Grand Canyon - long day trip

I booked my trip with the Grand Canyon Tour Company. There are many companies to choose from, all offering "the best tour". I chose this company mainly because they promised a decent time at the rim of the canyon and didn't seem to add "wasted" stops. I think it was a good choice. I paid $86 US (on "special"), which a bit more than some, but a lot less than many offered at the hotels (which can approach double this cost).

I made it to the bus in time - stocked up with drinking water, cameras, binoculars, Las Vegas guidebook for trip home (to plan the next few days).

My tip: Don't be late, the bus driver didn't wait long at hotels if people weren't there... The shuttle bus picks up from numerous hotels and then drops you off for the main bus. The breakfast (included)was skimpy (a pop tart or something similar and coffee or huice) - we hit the road at 7.10 AM.

So we were on our way to the South Rim (the best views, probably, though more than 300 miles in each direction. There are tours to the West Rim, too, which is a good deal closer, but I wanted to see the South Rim...)

Our stops:

• Hoover Dam - 20 mins. While this is a true engineering marvel (we watched a video on how it was constructed after we passed the dam) the picture stop is behind the dam on the Arizona side, so the pictures aren't very dramatic. In fact it can be hard to work out what you are seeing in the photos, if you hadn't just driven over the dam itself!
• Kingman - Arizona - 20 mins - truck stop.
• Lunch stop at Williams at the depot of the Grand Canyon railway (which does still run). Lunch was included. A decent buffet, not good, but more than adequate. And quick.
• Souvenir stop at Flagstaff - sometimes this is done on the return trip...

We arrived at the South Rim 6 and a half hours after leaving Las Vegas. Strangely it didn't feel all that long - views and scenery on the way is remarkable - so interesting. Plus informational videos on Hoover Dam construction and about the Canyon itself to pass the time (if you aren't enjoying the views). I think I may have slept a little.

We spent some rim-time at two points, about an hour at each, and a 10 minute drive between them. This was not really long enough for me - I would have walked further along the rim, but still the views don't change "that" much and you do get to the see plenty of the canyon in that time.

The Canyon is amazing, of course, a wonder of the world. It is hard to imagine the scale from photographs. Very colourful, too and of course incredibly rugged. We were able to see a few of the trails in the bottom of the canyon for brave souls that have booked in advance, and taken the famous mule tours to the bottom and back! The sights were awe-inspiring.

No time at all was wasted on any of the stops (which are mandated for the driver as much as anything else) - I don't think anybody felt that any time was wasted getting to/from the canyon, so although there was less than 2.5 hours at the rim, it was still OK.

Return on stop in Kingman again then home. We just had a couple of movies on the way back (our driver was not super-chatty, which I think on balance was good - I have read some reviews on over-chatty drivers which didn't sound too much fun).

Back in the city by 9 PM, at the hotel (after dropping off all the way up the strip - I was almost the last hotel) by 9.30.

So, the million dollar question - was this trip suitable for kids? Well, in my opinion - not really.

There were 2 small kids on our trip and a couple of teens. There were quite a few kids at the rim too. The kids on our trip were very well-behaved, actually. But

1. it's a long (possibly quite boring) trip 
2. the kids are not as likely as you to really "get" the canyon. I suspect my kids might be bored at the rim, within the hour that you are there. 
3. It would be really nerve-wracking to have your kids at the edge - much of the rim walk doesn't have walls or rails - it would be very possible to imagine your kids falling off! 
4. That means that you wouldn't really have the ability to truly even view the spectacle that you came all that way to see! 

Obviously, the older and more sensible your kids the more likely that none of the above will apply. Once my 3 year old boy is 11 or so, I think we could consider doing this, but probably not before.

But, I am glad I did it..